To travel you do not have to wait for the time you go on vacation. Even on a workweek, there is a time for a trip. To diversify your weekends and to get new impressions and emotions you can make a fantastic trip embracing our programme "short breaks".

Take your friends or family, choose up to three cities you want to visit and make a fabulous journey. In this weekend tour, you can stay for a one or two nights in the places you have chosen. You can be on excursions exploring and admiring the cities during the whole day and enjoy breathtaking views of the places recollecting bright moments of your trip at night. From dawn till night you will be able to see how the cities and everything around you change. Morning day will present the architecture and the landscape in sunlight glory while night will show transformed buildings and streets sinking in illumination.

What is the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to souvenirs from Russia? Of course, it is matryoshka, balalaika, vodka and caviar. Oh, and a hat with ear flaps as well! However, the ear flap hat is now in vogue, and has ceased to be such a rarity, vodka can be bought almost anywhere in the world.

Numerous souvenir shops are vying to sell magnets, mugs and T-shirts with slogans and thematic images (flag and coat of arms of Russia, funny sayings, bears, portraits of politicians and well-known writers), sailor's striped vests, as well as handicrafts. Khokhloma, Gzhel, enamel, birch amulets and Vologda lacework… the assortment is huge! But when you make purchases, don’t lower your guard.
Some unscrupulous sellers may try to sell you cheaper and substandard imitations. Of course, most of the shops have certificates for their goods and buy them directly from factories and workshops.
To help you not to get lost in all this colorful variety and tell how and where it is better to buy particular products, we have prepared separate articles for you on Russian folk crafts.

It makes sense to look for more valuable and rare souvenirs in antique shops.
Old coins, porcelain figurines of the Soviet era, icons, clocks, badges, decorations - one does not know where to look first!
But even here there are potential pitfalls. Apart from the fact that the seller may seriously inflate the price of what you want to buy, arguing that it is older or more valuable than it really is, there may be problems taking it out of the country.

As of today, it is prohibited to take any items of cultural value (books, figurines, icons, pictures, etc.), created prior to January 1, 1964 out of the country.

Important note: items of cultural value do not include cultural goods of serial and mass production, or modern souvenirs.

However, sometimes even an item of mass production manufactured over fifty years ago may attract the close attention of the customs service. If you want to protect yourself from unforeseen delays and undesired proceedings (the item is likely to stay with you, which, alas, cannot be said of your nerve cells), you can send the purchase to your own address by mail, after packing it carefully to avoid damage. Make sure that the package has a warning sign if the item is fragile.

Are you a little confused with all this information? Our team members are always ready to help you navigate all the rules, addresses, products and prices!

You will definitely find something to your liking and within your budget with all the variety of great Russian souvenirs!

Fedoskino

Fedoskino - This artisan center dates back more than two hundred years, with its founding traditionally tied to 1795. What’s unique, is that the factory in the village of Danilkino was organized by a merchant, Korobov, and was dedicated to the production of lacquered visors for military headgear. They switched to the production and painting of papier-mache jewel-boxes just three years later, as the demand for snuffboxes soared (snuffing tobacco had just come into vogue). Korobov refused to settle with just gluing pictures on his snuffboxes and hired some craftsmen at Shtobswasser’s factory in Braunschweig, Germany, to create original images for his products.

Korobov passed his factory on to his son-in-law, who acted with exceptional responsibility, and hired miniature painters for painting products. Its product range was significantly expanded; in addition to snuffboxes the factory started the production of tea boxes, jewel boxes, pencil cases, pens, easels and many other things for the household.

Alas, scientific and technical progress had an impact on the development of the factory. In the early twentieth century the factory actually closed, unable to compete with photographic images, but after a short time it was opened again - they decided to restart the factory and preserve its artisanry.

Fedoskino factory of lacquer miniature still exists today, and the production process is as time-consuming as it used to be, because the painting of just one small box takes months of painstaking manual labor!
The work on a lacquered miniature is carried out with oils in four stages. In the beginning a sketch is made. It is complemented by new details, followed by treatment and modeling of the picture with transparent colors. Then, light colors are applied over it to create highlights on the objects (so-called blikovka).

The distinctive feature of Fedoskino lacquered miniatures is a pearlescent background. The finished product is signed and dated by the master (on the inside), and then is coated with ten layers of laquer and polished to a shine.

One of the features of Fedoskino miniatures is the application of some light-reflective substances - such as gold leaf or bronze powder - on the painted surface to create depth and glow effects.

Fedoskino miniatures are characterized by maximum realism. The products are manufactured in limited quantities. The paintings’ main themes are the same as before - scenes of peasant life, fairy tales, the world-famous troika, landscapes, reproductions of famous paintings, and portraits of historical figures. In addition to boxes the factory manufactures pens and icons. You can order an item with your own portrait or picture, but remember - it is a lengthy process, and the price will increase significantly. All products are accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

Taking into account the manufacturing process, materials, and its uniqueness, it is important to understand that the Fedoskino artisan products are not cheap! If you are offered a product at a suspiciously low price somewhere – just don’t buy it.

The village of Fedoskino is located in the Mytishy District in the Moscow Oblast. The factory has a store and offers guided tours and workshops.